Hunters and nature enthusiasts usually attempt to observe wildlife such as deer without being detected by the wildlife in order to prevent the wildlife from being scared away. Because wildlife detect humans both by sight and through a keen sense of smell, camouflage alone will not prevent the hunters from being detected. Therefore, hunters often try to position themselves downwind so that wildlife will not be able to smell them. This does not always work since wildlife can approach the hunter from any direction. It is generally well known that if a hunter can position himself high above the ground, he will increase his chances of remaining undetected by wildlife, since animals generally do not look up and are less likely to detect the human scent if the hunter is not at ground level.
Hunter's seats are available that can be attached to a tree at a substantial distance above the ground. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,441 to Kepley discloses a hunter's seat that can be attached to the trunk of a tree. The hunter then climbs up into the seat and can observe wildlife from the elevated position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,914 to Gary discloses a tree sling which can be used by a hunter to hoist himself up into a tree. The hunter sits in the sling and turns a hand crank which draws in a rope that is secured to a branch high up in the tree. As the rope is drawn in, the sling and hunter are raised up into the tree.